What Makes SSC Dark and Sad
(WARNING: MANY SPOILERS) Although at some points, it doesn't appear to be that dark and sad until Part II. Even then, some may say that it's not even that dark, until the Final Battles. What makes it dark, doesn't really say in the game. But if you look closely, you'll see it. At first glance, you see a game with tons of humor and comedy. When looking closer, you'll realize that even though the ending is somewhat good, people are still out there in pain. And the pain cannot be mended completely, which shows the true darkness. First off, you see the sufferings of the characters. Skye Hikari, faces the most pain and sadness out of all the party members. What also makes the game sad is the unfairness, the pain and sorrow people feel in the game, the reality of losing people you love, injustice, bad fates, and the fact that not everyone can be happy in the end. When someone dies, their souls will be trapped in eternity of torture, into these beings called Undead. If the Undead are destroyed, the souls are released into peace. Some Undead are never found, and some souls are lost, trapped in torture forever. Skye Hikari Let's talk about Skye Hikari, even though it's clear her past and situation is pretty dark. But look at the true meaning behind it. Yes, she knew she was going to die, and she was watching everyone around her suffer, knowing that she was part of the reason that was causing it. She didn't know how to stop it and couldn't do anything about it. She knew about Astrid dying as a child. Later, she also found out that anyone who died that was a Host, had their existence wiped away. Any memory or anything to do with that person and that person alone would disappear, and fade away. She and other Hosts weren't supposed to exist, and she was faced with the burden of doing so. Since she was a Host that was causing many people to suffer without her intention and with no way to stop it, she felt like a monster with no place in the world. There was so much in her life that she missed out on, childhood memories, making friends, having a normal life. This was all corrupted because she was faced with being a Host and knowing the outcome. She was the only one who knew what was going on. It was worse for her, because she knew she was going to die. Sometimes, it's better not knowing. Because of her knowing that she was going to fade away and lose everyone, she became distant. This was so she wouldn't have to go through the same pain as Astrid did. She had to close herself off to everyone. Anyone in that situation probably would've done similar or the same thing. You try dealing with the fact that you were going to die at a young age, and that you weren't meant to exist. What would you do? You would probably do similar. But she realized later in the game that it was hurting her even more to keep away. She missed out on a lot in her childhood, and didn't get to forge the love and friendships she could've had. Deep down, she longed for the friendships with everyone, but she couldn't. She was a monster with an unchangable fate, and was doomed to not exist. Befriending others would just put them in danger. Later, she was able to accept the sorrow and make the memories count so she would have something to hold onto when dead. She deeply regretted her actions, and became a true hero this way and overcame it. By stomaching the suffering and pain, it was no doubt that Skye was one of the strongest characters. She spends a wide majority of the game looking for Astrid's Undead. There was so much pain and suffering there, because she remembered who Astrid was, Astrid was the only one truly close to Skye. She was forced to look for her Undead and kill her. Imagine losing someone you love, and seeing them once again, but having to kill them when finally reuniting. It killed Skye inside to do it, but she knew she had to, because it would save Astrid. They would both have the same fate. Finally, she found Astrid. She hasn't seen Astrid in years and once meeting her again, she has to end her. Skye hesitates at first. This is understandable, you try having to be forced to kill someone you love, when reuniting with them. She finally sees Astrid again, just to see her die again. When the faded Astrid speaks to her, she tells her to watch over everyone and make the memories count. After Astrid had to leave again, Skye didn't cry too much. She was holding back her sadness to be strong, and live on to help her. It's sad enough that Skye had to lose her sister. Her sister was her best friend. You try going through losing a best friend and a family member, knowing that you have to kill them. Your family and your friends are a part of you. By losing them, you lose a part of yourself as well. You think that's sad enough? What's worse, is that she has to die when the world is saved. She's happy that everything is over, but you try having the world's fate in your hands. Imagine going through all that in the past, and finally saving the world, but having to die as a reward? She didn't deserve it. There was so much she went through, and she has to die? Even if she lives, she still has to live with the fact that she gets to come back, but Astrid doesn't. It's touching when Skye names her daughter Astrid, after he dead sister. The best thing that happened to her was her relationships with everyone. The bonds she forged, the memories she made in her short time. Her last words mentioned that everyone in her life was the best thing that happened to her. In the end, she just wanted everything to be at peace again. Astrid and other Hosts Let's look at Astrid and the other Hosts. Most of the Hosts that know about their fate will turn mad with insanity. Some of their Risen will be killing those they love. You try realizing how much you're hurting anyone and not being able to do anything about it. Astrid had one of the saddest fates. She didn't know she was a Host. She was a lovable girl, that everyone loved. Everyone knew who she was. Put yourself in her shoes. Be someone who was loved and known by everyone, and once you die, nobody remembers you. They're inside your hearts, but you're not inside their hearts. Once you die, the misery is still not over, it gets far worse. You become a powerful Undead Host, nearly indestructable, and you hurt pretty much everyone. Your soul is trapped and tortured, and you may get trapped in there in eternity. Suppose your soul gets released somehow. Sure, you get to rest in peace, but you have to watch over those you care about. And once you do, you see that they have forgotten everything that had to do with you. Imagine how much pain you would be in. That's exactly what Astrid had to do. What was so sad about it, is that Astrid accepted what was happening. As she was dying, she thought that she would just be ascending to the skies. She didn't know that she was going to go through so much afterwards. And even after, she still managed to smile. She accepted that she wouldn't come back, and nobody could remember her. She just continued to smile and watch over everyone, because they would be in her heart. Civillians Through the Final Battles, we see a few glimpses of people suffering. People watching their hometowns and places that they love being destroyed by Risen right in front of their eyes. They have to rely on the Agents to help them, and are nearly helpless. Around the Final Battles, we see children losing their parens, people losing their lovers, siblings losing each other. Through some way, at least someone out there is losing someone. And they'll just become Undead. Some Hosts can't control their own powers and accidentally attack and kill their loved ones. The loved ones accept their death, but wish for it to never happen. That's true courage. After Chernabog is destroyed, explosions follow suit and we see innocent people dying from the explosion. They all become Undead in the end. All the misery they are put through in their lives, is going to get worse, trapped in eternity. Some people were forced to work for the Furies. They were forced to go into the darkness and be evil. If they didn't, the Furies would kill their families and anyone else important to them. I'm sure anyone would do the same given that situation. If it's to save the ones you love, would you do it? Agents The Agents were faced with the pressure of doing their best. Many Agents watched people die in front of them. Many failed to save people, and this guilt was placed on their shoulders. The world's stake was all on their shoulders and they had to stay strong for everyone. They had to keep up a strong facade so the common people would believe in them. If they couldn't do anything, nobody could. And the world would be destroyed because of them. Throughout the game, Shadow, Leaf, Spark, and Glacieus all see the true darkness of the world. They are the lighter characters, and prior to the game, they never realized how dark it all was. Nonetheless, they still managed to keep up a smile, even though others were dying. They had to pull through. Spark was one of the weakest of them all on the inside. She used to be extremely helpless at a young age, and she toughened herself up to not get hurt again. But her past haunts her with all the true darkness, but she manages to pull through and get out of her weaknesses. Her strength was used to motivate others to be strong. Leaf and Glacieus often joke around, and it was revealed that the reason behind their jokes is to get people to smile and just for a minute, forget the their situation and be happy. They couldn't show weakness at all and had to keep fighting with smiles on their faces and act like nothing was wrong. You try having to live through pain and misery, and having to smile to show that nothing was wrong, even though everything was killing you inside. They couldn't just stop and be sad about it, they had to keep going no matter what. Shadow was faced with the confusion over his sister. They used to be so close and alike in the past. Nonetheless, Shadow feels his sister is a part of her. He's a happy guy, but when he goes through so much: seeing others suffer, failing to save some, etc, he manages to pull through with a smile, even though all those events nearly scarred him for life. When he realized that his sister was going to die, all the pain crashed down on him. His sister was like another self of him. Losing her would be like losing half of himself. You wouldn't know who you are anymore. All Shadow wanted was for everyone to be happy. In the end, he accepted it, although it nearly killed him inside to do so. Aurora, Stream, Luna, and Blaze were determined to save everything. Although Luna was a bit negative, she still believed in everything in the end, and tried her best to pull everything through. She saw how much everyone was counting on her family, and even though she was pressured, she managed to suceed. Luna became a great leader and she was able to tough out anything, become unfazed by everything. She hardened as a person. Blaze often looked to the past from Shiya and Tate to figure out what to do. It's hard to keep a calm head in hard situations, but Blaze managed to pull everyone together. Stream was a shy and timid girl, and she sometimes couldn't do anything because she was meek. She didn't want to be weak anymore, even though she was a strong fighter. She overcame her scared nature, and became one of the bravest people. Everything was horrifying for her to watch, but she managed to take care of of everyone. She was the carer of the group, and tried to help everyone pull through by boosting their morale, and fought the darkness of her fears. Aurora always felt inferior to others because she was in the shadows of her perfect sister. But over time, she was able to become a better person. Even though the darkness brought her down, she was able to keep her head up and fight with everyone to save the world. Out of the Agents, Zephyr probably faced one of the saddest lives. Through his entire life, he was immediately expected to be a leader. IF something went wrong, Zephyr would get the blame. This pressured him, and he struggled. As a leader, you can't show sadness or weakness. He had to hide his emotions, even though he overcame them. The world was mainly placed on his shoulders, and he had to live through it. He became a leader as time went on. Through his weaknesses, he could overcome it, become someone admired by everyone. Even with all the pressure and the fact that people were suffering, he was able to do what he was supposed to do. Anyone placed under Zeph's situation would probably do the same thing. Everyone looks up to a leader, and imagine taking blame for everything placed upon you. You can't show any signs of weakness, and as much as everything was hurting Zephyr, he showed his courage and placed it before him, bearing a strong facade. He loved Skye. When he realized what was going on with her, and that she was going to die, you could just imagine what he felt. He was in pain and despair at the person he loved dying. You try realizing that the person you loved the most was going to die and disappear from your heart forever. But it was worse for Zephyr. Despite all the sadness, he had to hide it and show strength so nobody would have to worry. Normally people would be depressed, saddened, and be able to show their emotions. But Zephyr couldn't, and you try having to go through that. You can't cry, can't be angry at it all. All you can do is hope and be strong. She was a part of him. They were each other's first friends when they were young. That bond that they had before everything changed was remembered by him. Who would fill the void when she dies and disappears from him? Nobody. If Skye died, half of him would disappear forever. She was the one who helped him through all of it, and he loved her for it. All he could do was hold his pain in. When you love someone that much, you start to feel what they feel. In a way, Zephyr was able to feel some of the pain that she felt. It killed him inside to see how much she had to go through. And when she died, her existence would disappear completely. That person would be gone from your life, and you wouldn't have any memories of them to hold onto. When someone dies, normally their memories stay inside you and they still remain a part of you. But if Skye died, the memories would fade and she would no longer be a part of him. He would have to continue life without her, which would be hard, because all his life included being with her.